Mr Brian Meehan, the man accused of murdering the journalist Veronica Guerin, played a "vital" role in an organised criminal scheme to import and distribute cannabis and reap the financial rewards, the Special Criminal Court was told yesterday.
Mr Eamonn Leahy SC, prosecuting, said the case against Mr Meehan consisted of a number of distinct strands of evidence. Individually some of these strands, if accepted by the court, would be sufficient to establish Mr Meehan's guilt. He said it was the prosecution's case that when intertwined, the individual strands constituted an evidential rope which tied Mr Meehan to the charges on the indictment.
Mr Leahy was making his closing submission for the prosecution on the 28th day of the trial of Mr Meehan (34), of no fixed abode, and formerly of Clifton Court, Dublin, and Stanaway Road, Crumlin, Dublin.
Mr Meehan has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Guerin (36) at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, on June 26th, 1996. He also denies 16 charges including importing cannabis resin between July 1st, 1994, and October 6th, 1996; possession of cannabis resin for sale or supply on the same dates and that on or about October 3rd, 1996, at Unit 1B, Green mount Industrial Estate, Harolds Cross, Dublin, he had cannabis resin for sale or supply.
He has also pleaded not guilty to having a Sten sub-machinegun, a 9 mm Agram machine pistol, five Walther semi-automatic pistols, and 1,057 rounds of ammunition at Oldcourt Road, Tallaght, Dublin, between November 10th, 1995, and October 3rd, 1996.
Mr Leahy said: "Central to the case which the prosecution has made against the accused is the existence of an organised criminal gang under the ultimate control of [a man who can only be identified as Mr A], which existed to import and distribute cannabis and to reap the very considerable financial rewards from that illicit trade."
He said the "pivotal role" played by Mr A had been described by a number of witnesses and the evidence was that Mr Meehan was involved from the outset in the drugs' importation. State witness John Dunne had identified Mr Meehan in court as the man with whom he had to 12 face-to-face meetings about the transportation of cannabis from Cork to a hotel in Co Kildare.
State witness Charles Bowden also gave evidence that Mr Meehan played " a managerial role" in the distribution of the cannabis from the lock-up premises at Greenmount in Harolds Cross.
Mr Leahy said the court had heard evidence that the gang was distributing up to 300 kg of cannabis a week and that the gang leader, Mr A, received £600,000 a week. He said the murder of Ms Guerin must be viewed against this background of cannabis importation and distribution and the financial rewards for the gang. Counsel said there was also "an inescapable nexus and knowledge" on the part of Mr Meehan to the firearms and ammunition which were imported by the gang and stored at a Jewish cemetery at Oldcourt Road, near Tallaght.
Other evidence such as that relating to the stolen motorbike given to Mr Meehan and used by him on the day of the killing and which was later recovered by gardai from the River Liffey showed the gang's efforts to cover over their tracks.
Mr Leahy said the court had heard "most graphically and chillingly" a tape of a phone conversation between Mr Meehan and Ms Juliet Bowden in which Mr Meehan had threatened to kill Charles Bowden or have people sent to kill him if he "turned Turk".
It was the prosecution case that the threats and other threats made by Mr A against State witness Russell Warren was consistent with Mr Meehan's belief that Bowden had something to say to the gardai which would be detrimental to the accused.
He said evidence of the traffic between three mobile phones on the day of the murder was strongly supportive of Warren's account of his activities on the day. Mr Leahy warned the court of the dangers associated with accomplice evidence and of the dangers of convicting on the uncorroborated evidence of an accomplice.
Mr Julian Clohessy was not an accomplice and was "socially but not criminally involved with members of the gang". Mr Leahy said that in relation to the murder charge, the prosecution case was that a conversation between Mr Meehan and Mr Clohessy in the POD night-club on July 11th, 1996, where Mr Meehan admitted his involvement in the murder, was evidence capable of providing corroboration.
He said Mr Meehan's fingerprint, found on a list at the lockup at Greenmount, was capable of providing corroboration for the drugs charges.
Mr Leahy said that Charles and Juliet Bowden provided evidence relating to the firearms offences, but the prosecution also accepted that one accomplice could not provide corroboration for another accomplice.
The court will hear defence submissions in the trial today.